Dan and Sandy

[Newfang]

....And we are hopefully buying and bringing home our first Scamp this weekend...a 13' egg in northern Florida.

We are very excited though we are still trying to figure out the whole registration issue. Won't have tags on Saturday, but with the 6 hour drive we really want to only make one trip up and back. Tag office confirmed we must have tags from day 1. Need title/bill of sale to register, and won't have that till Saturday...catch 22. Any suggestions?

Little about us....Dan and I are private pilots. Flying is our passion, but general outdoor adventuring is always in the mix. We have a couple of Montague (paratrooper pro) full sized folding bikes we've taken with us on flying adventures that we hope to bring on our Scamp adventures too. Combining camping and flying is our annual trip to Sun n Fun in Lakeland Florida at the end of March. I expect it will be our first Scamp trip.

Crossing our fingers for all to go well this weekend.

Dan and Sandy!

[honda03842]

In the Live Free or Die state we were able to go to the town hall and get a 10 day temporary plate. I think all we had was the Trailer # and an email from the owner saying we were buying it.

[melissab]

Welcome Dan and Sandy! We being from FL ran into this too in the past. According to the DMV the only way to legally transport a trailer, car etc is to have a current tag in your name. If it's the weekend you're out of luck. They dont issue a temporary travel permit or anything! Very annoying! They said to go to the DMV where you are purchasing the vehicle, trailer etc and register it there. I asked what about transactions that take place on the weekend and the answer was basically we were S.O.L. They said we can take our chances and drive it without a tag. The fine wasnt that much if we got stopped and they said as long as you have your bill of sale etc proving you just bought it the police will proably not care esp sinc it's a weekend and the DMV is not open. I'm not suggesting you do anything illegal but this is what we were told and what we did. A couple of different police cars even past us on I-95 on the way home and didnt even blink twice at the missing tag. There really aren't any good options unfortunately for a weekend purchase which I'm sure is most of them as who wants to miss work for something that can be done over a weekend.

Melissa

[Carol H]

When I purchased by car state side I had to wait for a week day to do it due to the temp permit issue. With the trailer also purchased state side I paid for it but then spent a night in a hotel so I could deal with the issue of a temp permit the next day.

[mary and bob]

Here's some ideas: make a plate out of cardboard and write temporary on it, photo copy another plate like maybe your car plate, or what I have done numerous times is use a plate off another trailer as I now have 6 registered trailers. Do you know anyone with a trailer whose license plate you can borrow? Some states don't require a plate on small trailers, but I would put something on it and just go. I have never in 40 years of pulling trailers been asked to show paperwork on one. A camping friend is always harassing me about putting plates on unregistered trailers, but it works for me. I even went through a state police road check and they didn't notice. Bob

[melissab]

I asked the DMV about using a plate from the trailer we sold and transferring to the one we were buying and was told it's jail time if you use another plate not registered to that vehicle even if it's yours! That's why they suggested just paying the small fine if you're stopped without a plate vs jail time and a HUGE fine (over $1500 I think it was) for putting a plate on not registered to that vehicle. FL is really strict on this for some reason. Now that being said, chances are a police officer would not run your trailer plate and discover it was registered to another trailer but I wouldnt run that risk since the fine is so hefty and then there is that whole jail thing. I'd rather go without a plate and pay the smaller fine.

Melissa

[Thomas G.]

In MI you can drive home with no plate. Just carry bill of sale with you.

[Meghan]

In NY if you use a plate not registered to the vehicle it is way worse than no plate. What I found out is I have one day to get it weighed and drive without a plate. I needed it weighed to register it. So the ummmmm few times I drive it was ummmmm to get weighed.... Right!?!?

[Pam Garlow]

We used a plate from another trailer, and brought ours home to Michigan from Illinois. Of course, we had the bill of sale also.

[Donna D.]

OMG. I would NEVER tell someone to break the law. Every license plate is matched to a VIN... and if the WORST should happen, it's ALL on YOU. No one on this forum will go to court and support you. YOU must do what you feel you should do. It may be an inconvenience (or whatever), but do you really want to risk everything you own based on an OPINION... I mean... really?

YMMV.

[melissab]

Exactly, Donna. And some states are stricter than others and FL is one of them. Since the OP is in FL and I have spoken extensively to the DMV about this and was told no plate is the best way to go if you can not register it before traveling with the trailer. Just be sure to have the Bill of Sale and Title too if possible. The DMV said it's only a small fine (like $35 or so), no points on your license etc for traveling without a plate. But if you use another plate that has serious consquences as you said in your post at least in FL. Wonder if other states do too but just dont enforce it? Would be interesting to know what's on the "books". Especially with so many states needing revenue.

[Newfang]

I think you are right Melissa. First we'll ask the seller again if he would be willing to let us use his current tag for the drive down. If not then we've decided to go with no tag. We'll plan on the small fine. I'm thinking that we'll hop on the Interstate (I-10, I-75) as soon as we can. The way the small towns are along US-19 (and budgets), I wouldnt be surprised if they gave out a ticket in each county! We'll have the title/bill of sale, and hope for an understanding cop/patrol officer if we get stopped. I know the Highway Patrol guys are often unforgiving, but They won't write twice I'm thinking. I wish it weren't such a long drive. I'll be relieved when we have it home.

[melissab]

I can see why the owner doesnt want his plate to leave as it saves him at least $100 (might be $200, cant remember now) if he is purchasing another trailer and will transfer the plate. Maybe if you offer to leave him a "deposit" for the plate that he will return once you mail him the plate back? Just a thought. Like I said earlier, we had two highway patrol pass us on I-95 between Port St. Lucie and Melbourne without a plate and they didnt even blink. Maybe they had mroe important things to do. Good plan about avoiding the smaller towns though, they are on the lookout for more things I think. Good Luck and Congrats on your new Egg!

[Tony Nowak]

Your right Melissa, the county cheif deputy neighbor says they have better things to do than wonder if that small of a trailer needs a license. I asked him because we don't license our Bigfoot, as WI doesn't require a license less than 3000 lbs. It is, of course, a borderline case. Tony

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by Tony Nowak

Your right Melissa, the county cheif deputy neighbor says they have better things to do than wonder if that small of a trailer needs a license. I asked him because we don't license our Bigfoot, as WI doesn't require a license less than 3000 lbs. It is, of course, a borderline case. Tony

And if you leave WI while towing...???

[mary and bob]

Tony: A few years ago we met a couple at a campground in Vermont, they were from California, and had just picked up a new Camp-Inn teardrop in Wisconsin. No plate required there. In some little Vermont town the local Barney Fife cop made a big issue of them having no plate on the trailer, gave them a ticket, and made them get a Vermont plate. They were not happy campers that day!!! Bob

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by BCDave

And if you leave WI while towing...???

LOL - I sure would not do it in BC - Trailers have to have their own insurance here - so no valid plate would indicate no insurance - which will get you a $598. The suggestion of just putting a fake permit in the widow amounts to a fine for Illegal use of a permit or insurance which would land you a fine of between $115 to $2300.00 depending on how grumpy the judge is the day you go to see him :-) An Illegible plate will get you a $196 fine.

[melissab]

Wow, can can a state make you get their plate when you are not a resident? Wonder if they had to pay Vermont sales tax, registration, etc as well? I would have said forget it I'm outta here and headed for the state line.

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Tony: A few years ago we met a couple at a campground in Vermont, they were from California, and had just picked up a new Camp-Inn teardrop in Wisconsin. No plate required there. In some little Vermont town the local Barney Fife cop made a big issue of them having no plate on the trailer, gave them a ticket, and made them get a Vermont plate. They were not happy campers that day!!! Bob

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, sounds like the tale got scrambled while being retold. The Vermont authorities can only escort you to state line while asking you to leave the state. There is general reciprocity of most motor vehicle laws.

[mary and bob]

Sorry, that's exactly what they told me happened. Maybe they scrambled it a little, but it had a Vermont plate and the car had a California plate, and the woman was really agitated over it. Bob